4th Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

“But I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you.”

From this verse we should ascertain that the Paraclete’s coming is important. The Paraclete does not begin new work, but continues the work that was begun by Christ. Christ’s work is finished as he lowered His head and exclaimed those words from the cross. Despite this we cannot begin to think that there is nothing that is required of us and thus that there is nothing else that we are to do.

From 2 Peter we are told, “He has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature.” Here we are being invited to enter into the divine nature and live. This is not a passive relationship, but one that we must enter fully into and embrace. Yes, the work of redemption has been completed by Christ, but we are to be animated by the Holy Spirit in order that we may come to live and embrace it.

From the Gospel of Saint John we are told, “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Here we can see that the Holy Spirit has an important role in our life as well as the life of the Church. Despite this role we often push the Holy Spirit to the side thus making the Holy Spirit some abstract reality that does nothing for us.

Many see the sacrament of confirmation as such. They forget what God is doing in their life through the sacrament in favor of a concept of the importance of our adult acceptance of the faith. Rather, confirmation is important for we come to receive the fullness of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is this Holy Spirit who assists us in our practice of faith, so that we may endure despite the many temptations and trials of this life.

The Holy Spirit is not stirring forth new revelations in the life of the Church that contradict what has been taught by Christ and handed down to the Church. Some act as if doctrine can change just because it would make them feel good in their sin. This is not the role of the Holy Spirt for the Holy Spirit leads us in all truth and continues the work of Christ.

As the Prayer to the Holy Spirit states, “Help us to relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation.” As we are also told in the Gospel of Saint John, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” We must remain open to such truth no matter how difficult it may be to hear. Let us continue to open ourself up to this gift of the Holy Spirit and always remain open to His promptings which lead us forth in such truth.

5th Sunday of Easter Year B Homily

My dearest children today you experience a great joy. That joy is that at Mass we behold Jesus present with us under the appearances of bread and wine. We know this to be Christ who is present with us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Today you will receive Him for the very first time run the Most Holy Eucharist. This is truly a great joy.

For the rest us we should join with these children in experiencing such a joy. For we too behold the Lord present with us in the Most Holy Eucharist. We too have the opportunity to receive Him under the appearances of bread and wine if we so allow our life to be oriented unto His. This is truly a great joy for us as for these children.

In our Gospel the Lord makes known to us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Here we are being invited to enter into communion with Him. We must remember that our life should live untied to Him instead of lived independent from Him.

So often we are found willing to sacrifice attendance at Mass in favor of some worldly pursuit. So often we flock towards an event, but are content with pushing the Eucharist to the side. In other words we allow ourself to forget that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. That He invites us to enter into communion with Him and is truly present with us in the Eucharist.

It is the Second Vatican Council that proclaims that the Eucharist should be the source and summit of our life. Does our life revolve around Him or does it revolve around something else? Again, Christ is “the vine” and we “are the branches.” What would happen to a branch if it is removed from the tree? It will not continue to live. We are in need of Christ and we need to make Him a priority in our life.

This priority is not only for us, but is for the whole family. Parents bring your children to Mass. Teach them how to pray and how to enter into relationship with the Lord. If the home cannot be a refuge of prayer and faith what are we doing for our children (for their salvation, for our salvation)? As the Catechism speaks concerning prayer, “Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all.”

We cannot forget Him who is our life and our all because He is the vine and we are the branches. Let us remain united to this vine always thus entering into deeper communion with Him. It is for this reason that we rejoice this evening with our children who will have the opportunity to receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ for the first time.

3rd Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

We must remember that we are pilgrims on a journey towards eternal life. We see this echoed to us in our epistle where Saint Peter addresses us as “strangers and pilgrims” and calls us “to refrain from carnal desires, which war against the soul.” Therefore, we cannot set our sight upon things of this world, but of things which are to come.

So often people find their “joy” in the ways of this world which are disordered. None of these actions can lead someone towards true happiness and joy. Our introit calls us to “shout with joy to God.” Indeed we are to shout with joy to God despite the daily struggle because we come to acknowledge the one who truly fills us to the fullest degree.

In coming to encounter the Lord we were told in our Gospel, “A little while, and now you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me.” These words show the toil that must take place within us if we are to find such joy. So often people of faith are willing to give up hope instead of persevering in their practice of faith.

We know that the apostles had to undergo a lot at the time of our Lord’s Passion. Here they are being prepared for that moment for not only will He die, but He will live as He rises on the third day. So too the sufferings and toils of this life are fleeting before us for from the cross springs forth the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection. This is the virtue of hope that is stirred forth from this moment.

We too must have this virtue stirred up within the depths of our own heart. Without hope there would be a lot which would beat down upon us and cause us to surrender our faith. Despite what we may perceive to be going on within the Church we must hold steadfast in our practice of faith. Despite the temptation that continues to rip upon us we must not give up hope, but remain united with His mercy that endures forever. If and when we are able to do this we will discover that joy which was referenced in our introit.

This season of Easter is a time of great hope for the tomb was found to be empty. From the emptiness of this tomb we are able to go to persevere for there is nothing dead to be found when it pertains to the faith that we profess with our hearts, minds, and lips. Let us be sent forth from this place in order to be filled with the joy of the Gospel, no matter what takes place around us. From this joy let us live an authentic faith that is centered upon Christ and His Church that He has established on this earth. It is this Church that will assist us on our pilgrimage from this life to the life which is to come.

2nd Sunday After Easter Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Christ makes known in Our Gospel, “I am the good Shepherd.”

The shepherd is given an important role for it is up to their watchful care to provide for the needs of the sheep who have been entrusted to them. Sheep must receive water, food, and safety and the shepherd must make sure that these are provided. Psalm 23 reflects this important role by stating, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.” “In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me.” “He guides me along right paths.”

From Jeremiah 23 we are told of shepherds of people who have misused their responsibility in shepherding their flock. “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.” Later, it is promised, “I will raise up shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear or be terrified; none shall be missing.”

A good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. As we are told from the lips of our Blessed Lord, “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.” You see the Lord’s love for us is great and yet we must reflect upon the ways in which we choose to reciprocate this love. So often we are found too busy and consumed into our own wants to enter into relationship with the Lord.

The sheep know the voice of the good shepherd and thus respond to it. We must come to know this voice by cultivating such a relationship with Christ. The world is such a busy place, but we cannot forget to enter into this life giving relationship. The glamour of sin exists, but we must rebuke it by choosing to stay close to the Lord. He truly provides for our needs especially though the sacramental life of the Church.

We must pray that we will always have good shepherds in the life of the Church. At this time we continue to pray that we will soon receive a new bishop for this Diocese of Knoxville. We must remember that by virtue of our own baptism we are also called to be a good shepherd. We must live and assist others in their pursuit of God. This means that we must embrace a relationship with the Lord and turn away from those paths which keep us far from Him.

In the words of Saint John Paul II, “What a blessing it is to know Christ, the Good Shepherd, to know Him as the Redeemer who laid down His life for the sheep, to know Him as the Risen Lord, the source of everlasting joy and life. What a blessing it is to know the Good Shepherd and to believe in Him. This gift of faith is the greatest blessing we could ever receive in life.”

Let us strive to know Christ the Good Shepherd and to live a life modeled after His commands.

Easter Homily

Christ is Risen! He has risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today we rejoice for the tomb was not the end and so after three days He rose again in accordance of the scriptures. Our celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection is important for us because it affords us hope and orients our life down a path which leads towards Everlasting Life. This is the great hope that is brought forth through our celebration of His Resurrection.

The doctrine of the resurrection of the body is central to our Christian belief. As we profess in the Nicene Creed, “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” This statement of faith applies to each of us. Therefore, at a Funeral Mass we are able to proclaim despite the certainty of death “that life has changed, but not ended.”

When the Lord was taken down from the cross and placed inside of the tomb it would of been easy to think that this was the end. Likewise, whenever we face the reality of death it could be easy to look at it as if it were the end. Nevertheless, the Lord triumphs over the tomb and thus hope springs forth from it that all of those who have been touched by sin and death will be given life.

As Christians we have been marked with a seal through the event of our baptism for through these waters we were given life. In the Book of Ezekiel the faithful received a mark upon their forehead, the faithful are also given a mark upon their forehead in the Book of Revelation, and we enter into this mark through that which has been given to us at our baptism. 

Baptism is not a reality that stays in the past, but enters into the present and into the future. Through it we are given an indelible mark which will not go away even with death. Therefore, we are always marked as Christian and we should live as such. It is through our consent to sin that we turn away from God and this life that has been extended to us.

Christ suffered and died upon the cross, rose again on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven. These acts brings about the totality of His sacrificial action. Through such acts of complete love we ought to realize the seriousness of what we come to profess with our hearts, voices, and lips. Let not our life be lived in accordance with the Gospel for only a moment, but always.

This is truly what we come to profess through our celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. The Good News that springs forth from the empty tomb must continue to be meaningful for each of us. Our life must be lived in accordance to this message, for this message is one of Everlasting Life. Let us desire this pearl of great price which is foreshadowed by our Lord’s glorious Resurrection and order our life towards it.